Feel silly asking but......

[Rainbowbrite]

Just want to make sure i'm doing the right thing :o

Anakin is just over 2 weeks old & we have NO feeding routine. I feed him when I think he wants it ie when he wakes, whinges, before he sleeps, seems unsettled etc Basically I have no idea how many times a day he feeds, just that its sometimes every hour. Its.........whenever :laughing: He won't take a dummy so feeds to sleep.

Every time I check his nappy its wet & usually dirty. He sleeps well at night, up to 6hrs at a stretch.........day times he sleeps if i'm holding him (would like to stop that though. As much as I love the cuddles, its not fair on MJ). He's put on 200g in a week. He's VERY alert. When he's awake, he's WIDE awake.

Am I doing the right things?? Should I be doing more?? Should I be doing things differently??

Feel like a new mum again :o

[SilverStarfish]

Sounds exactly the same as what's happening here! :yes: Just a week behind you :laughing: I think we are both doing a fabulous job by the sounds of it then.

[Areca]

A is 3 months old and we still don't have much of a feeding routine here...but she's growing, happy, healthy, and has plenty of wet and dirty nappies so it's all good!

[Rainbowbrite]

Again, you two ladies make me feel normal :laughing: :hugs: :hugs:

[samken]

sounds great....if it isn't stressing you out and baby is peeing, pooing and getting bigger sounds perfect (that is what my gp, community nurse and lactation consultant tells me).

to make things easier for you, you can try and put a routine in place (you sort of have one). I feed baby every 3 hours (2 1/2 sometimes and if she is still asleep I let her keep sleeping until she is ready). This is what the scn started her off on in hospital and she pretty much sticks to it so I actually haven't got much choice but it makes my life very easy and it means she puts herself to sleep when I put her in the bassinet.

ok why every 3 hours (from beginning to next beginning) is because your milk needs to build up and if I hold off that 3 hours dd gets a fantastic feed and doesn't want another for at least 3 hours and sometimes up to 6 (unless going through a growth spurt when I can get a 2 1/2 request). Feeding every hour is a comfort thing and can cause problems down then line when sleep issues occur, ie they don't go into a deep sleep before they feel hungry again.

Good luck and as people tell me and reading what you have said I will pass on....you are sooooo lucky.

[Herchy]

geez, you sound like you hav it down pat.
6 hour sleeps at 2 weeks of age!!!
wholly cow, you've got it made;)

oh and at 4and a half months of age, I still feed DS whenever HE wants to be fed. always have.
He has sorted his own kind of routine out.
He tells me what he wants when he wants, and it seems to be working well for us;)

[Rainbowbrite]

MJ was on a strict 3hourly routine due to jaundice etc & it worked for her. He is alot bigger etc but I can't bring myself to NOT feed him if he's upset, hence the hourly sometimes feeds. I figure if he's not hungry he won't feed. He's also most definately not comfort sucking, its full on feeding. I don't have supply issues either, was breastfeeding MJ up till the day before I had Anakin.

It was suggested to me that it could be an early growth spurt.............

[Tam-I-Am]

Hey RB, sounds like you're doing EXACTLY the right thing - and a fantastic job! :hugs:

Every baby is different - but it took until DD was about 3 months old before I started spacing feeds out to at least 90 minutes between - and she was about 6 months before I decided that 2 hours between was probably reasonable - and that all went out the window if she was tired, sick, or teething anyway!

I wish I hadn't put so much pressure on myself for us to be in a routine!

[Rainbowbrite]

Thanks Tam :hugs: This parenthood thing is not easy :no:

[punkbaby]

Sounds right to me as everyone else has said above ^^

Indie is 6 weeks now and she still gets it when she wants it, basically when her eyes are open she gets it LOL

I can say now though that there is a little routine starting...usually she sleeps midnite to 5am sleeps again...so far i have worked out half her sleep routine i know she will sleep 8-10am and then 11ish am till 2pm....the others are lng stints too but a few give me cuddles times for the rest of the day :) lets just gaze into mummies eyes in a dreamy state times LOL and lets cry for no reason times :) ohh and we might sleep here for a bit :) times.

[Freya]

DS is 7 months and still not in a routine for feeding... He has it when ever he wants it, which seems to be 24/7 ATM!!

[jembelina]

Sounds perfect to me! My 14 month old still just feeds whenever!

[Benji]

I agree with the other ladies - you are doing everything perfectly :yelclap:

Hey, if he's sleeping for 6 hours you're doing great!!!!!

[Rainbowbrite]

Thanks ladies :)

I worry too much, & have so many people going on about spoiling him, that feeding to sleep is bad etc etc.

[lukaelmo]

I think it's normal to worry... that's what we do :)

And what you are doing is exactly what I did for both Luka and Chuckie when they were newborns... I loved it that they were never unsettled, because I would just feed them at every sound they made! it wasn't until later that I kind of got into a routine with them, more of a routine with Luka anyway, Chuckie doesn't have much of a daytime one as we work around Luka's daytime nap, not Chuckie's.

I also think that feeding to sleep is inevitable in a newborn... after all, sleeping and eating is pretty much all they do. I don't remember when, but I started trying keep them up a little while after a feed as they got a little older. Both of them now go to sleep without a feed, no problems whatsoever... but a newborn, just go with it...

And ENJOY!

[Fuchsia!]

DS is 7 months and still not in a routine for feeding... He has it when ever he wants it, which seems to be 24/7 ATM!!

Yeah Coop is 9mths now and i still don't have a routine! Somedays he will feed all day and sometimes its all night! I wouldn't stress! Your little bub is the best judge on how much tucker he needs!! And if he wants it then why not! :laughing:

And 200g is the perfect amount as far as im concerned. Im pretty sure that is the average amount they are supposed to put on.

Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job! I remember when coop was born i forgot everything! And it all came back naturally within a few months!

Your bub is lucky to have you :)

[zenifa]

RB, as others have said, you are doing a fantastic job and if your DS is having sleeps between 4-6hrs, then he is feeding well!!

Although I'm a few weeks ahead of you (DD2 is 10 weeks), I felt the same, although only a 2yr gap between my girls, I almost felt like a new mum again!!
Learning to attach/position correctly (as breastfeeding a newborn and toddler is very different) and adjust to the demands of a newborn.

With my DD2, I also demand feed, so I never look at the clock, we have no set routine, when she's awake and hungry I feed her (anywhere, anytime), and yes I have coslept, bf her lying down, bf her to sleep and she seems content and sleeps 4-6hrs at night (I'm only up once to bf). She also doesn't take the dummy but doesn't comfort suck at the breast either.

If your DS seems happy and content, has lots of wet/soiled nappies, is gaining weight and is sleeping well, that is :thumbsup: to you!! Instead of holding bubs to sleep, I am using a sling and you might find this useful, so you can still have DS with you for bf/comfort but still have your hands free to amuse MJ.
Dont' worry I don't believe you can spoil a 2week old baby and any extra cuddles and comfort you are giving him aren't going to set up bad habits of the long term, don't worry you are a fantastic mum!!

[Sheer Bliss]

Sounds like you are doing everything perfectly!! DS is 8months & only occasionally will i get a 6hr stretch at night from him!! But he is often too busy int he day now to have a proper feed, just makes up for that at night. :rolleyes: lol.


DS is 7 months and still not in a routine for feeding... He has it when ever he wants it, which seems to be 24/7 ATM!!


Yeah Coop is 9mths now and i still don't have a routine! Somedays he will feed all day and sometimes its all night! I wouldn't stress! Your little bub is the best judge on how much tucker he needs!! And if he wants it then why not! :laughing:

Same here too - at 8months, there is no set routine. He will often feed at around 3pm every day, but that is the only one I can be pretty sure on (unless we are out & he is having too much fun to stop & feed). I go with the flow.

On worrying about 'spoiling', please don't!! I would often put DD down to sleep/cry/play etc when instinct was telling me to hold her. I listened to others and did worry about spoiling her, but i don't think you can at that age. Now with DS, i rock him to sleep, and holdhim when i think he needs it & carry him in the ergo or sling if he doesn't want to be in the pram. He is MUCH more settled that DD was, and more independant than her at the same age. Different babies are different, but i wonder if i had listened to my instinct more with her would she have been more settled too? You sound like you are in tune with what bubs wants/needs, so go with that.

[SilverStarfish]

Thanks ladies :)

I worry too much, & have so many people going on about spoiling him, that feeding to sleep is bad etc etc.

Repeat after me:

"It's MY back and I'll make a rod for it if I choose!"

:laughing:

[shed]

No feeding routine here and he is 16 months old. We have never had a feeding routine and I still feed him to sleep as often as I can (he doesn't always want to :().

I think feeding to sleep is nature's design so I am not going to mess with it. If we weren't supposed to feed them to sleep then why does it work so well? hmm?

Well? :laughing:

[Areca]

Again, you two ladies make me feel normal :laughing: :hugs: :hugs:

Totally normal!!! I find now if A doesn't want it she cracks it at me and refuses to take it so it's a non issue. As a new newborn if she was awake she was being fed, it was the only thing she woke for.

Now she's awake a bit more often...the only time I don't just constantly offer her a feed is of an evening cause she has some gas issues and if I overfeed her it makes for a late bed time so I do make her wait for feeds after about 6pm (so she has them every hour instead of every 30 minutes!)

[Rainbowbrite]

Thanks again everyone :hugs:

Zenifa, I have both a moby & a ring sling...keep forgetting to use them at home :o

Ooh Wendy I LOVE it :D

Great point Shed :laughing:

[AM]

Just adding to the chorus of "Perfect!!" :yelclap: